Blacklist season 3: Red and Aram will take bold measures to protect Liz in the mid-season premiere

A promotional picture for The Blacklist season 3 episode 9 shows Elizabeth Keen in a box with FBI agent Aram and Peter Kotsiopulos (who works for The Cabal)NBC

NBC has released the synopsis for The Blacklist season 3 mid-season premiere episode 9, titled The Director Part 1, which airs on 7 January, 2016, at 9pm EST. In the fall finale, Elizabeth Keen's run from the law came to an expected end with agent Donald Ressler finally managing to catch the ex-FBI agent.

According to the synopsis for the mid-season premiere episode: "While Liz (Megan Boone) awaits trial Red (James Spader) and Aram (Amir Arison) take bold measures to ensure her protection."

Judging by the promotional pictures and preview from the episode, Liz's life is in serious danger and Ressler may not be able to save her. However, Reddington has a plan to protect her from The Cabal, according to executive producer Jon Bokenkamp.

He told Entertainment Weekly: "He's got a great plan that people are really going to dig seeing how all this comes together. The next two episodes are [about] the Director (David Strathairn). It's a two-parter. His plan is less about just her safety, and more about leveling the playing field. "

"What the audience is going to see is we've been laying in these breadcrumbs over the past eight episodes, everything from hits against The Cabal to the plan with Marvin Gerard (Fisher Stevens) in the second episode. It's a very complex, and yet simple plan that he's been hatching since the end of season 2, quite frankly," he added.

Elizabeth Keen in a promotional picture from The Blacklist season 3 episode 9 NBC

The fall finale saw Ressler kicking out agent Samar from the team after she helped Red and betrayed the FBI. According to the producer, actress Mozhan Marnò will return for the second half of season 3 but she will be working with Reddington.

Bokenkamp teased: "In the back half of the season, she's [Samar] not working with Ressler and the team. That would leave her open and available to potentially have some back-channeling with Reddington. Those two have a very unusual and very mysterious relationship. I would think it might be likely to see Red and Samar perhaps teaming up in some capacity."

Given that Aram revealed about Samar to Ressler, Bokenkamp teased a "weird triangle" between the three FBI agents. He said: "Beyond that, what's interesting moving forward is the dynamic between Aram (Amir Arison), Ressler and Samar, and what has happened with that very weird triangle. It has put a wedge in the task force in a way that we haven't had before, and puts people on different sides of the aisle."

NBC has released the synopsis for The Blacklist season 3 mid-season premiere episode 9 titled The Director Part 1, which airs on 7 January 2016 at 9pm EST. In the fall finale, Elizabeth Keen's run from the law came to an expected end with agent Donald Ressler finally managing to catch the ex-FBI agent.

According to the synopsis for the mid-season premiere episode: "While Liz (Megan Boone) awaits trial Red (James Spader) and Aram (Amir Arison) take bold measures to ensure her protection."

Judging by the promotional pictures and preview from the episode, Liz's life is in serious danger and Ressler may not be able to save her. However, Reddington has a plan to protect her from The Cabal, according to executive producer Jon Bokenkamp.

The producer toldEntertainment Weekly: "He's got a great plan that people are really going to dig seeing how all this comes together. The next two episodes are [about] the Director (David Strathairn). It's a two-parter. His plan is less about just her safety, and more about leveling the playing field. "

"What the audience is going to see is we've been laying in these breadcrumbs over the past eight episodes, everything from hits against The Cabal to the plan with Marvin Gerard (Fisher Stevens) in the second episode. It's a very complex, and yet simple plan that he's been hatching since the end of season 2, quite frankly," he added.